UK: ‘Evening With’ series of inspirational interviews

Farrukh Dhondy and Matteo Bergamini were interviewed in the latest of the ‘Evening With’ series of inspirational interviews Gul Khan, of the All Ladies League – London, interviewed Farrukh Dhon-dy, former Commissioning Editor of Channel 4 and Matteo Bergamini, Shout Out UK founder, was interviewed by Quince Garcia of Roadworks Media. The event was a partnership between All La-dies League and the Universal Peace Federation.

While Farrukh Dhondy spoke of his desire to promote free speech and human rights of the under-privileged, Matteo Bergamini explained his passion for youth political engagement, general political literacy and cutting edge documentaries such as Shout Out UK’s documentary on the growing un- derground movement, ‘Annonymous’. Watch Video here

Farrukh Dhondy is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist of Parsi descent, who resides in the United Kingdom. He is well known not only for his writing, but also for his film and TV work.

Dhondy’s literary output is vast, including books for children, textbooks and biographies, as well as plays for theatre and scripts film and television. He is also a columnist, a biographer (of C. L. R. James; 2001), and media and executive (Channel Four Commissioning Editor 1984–97). During his time with Channel Four, he wrote the comedy series Tandoori Nights (1985–87) for the channel, which concerned the rivalry of two curry house owners.

Awards: Children’s Rights Workshop Other award: 1977, for East End at Your Feet, and 1979, for Come to Mecca, and Other Stories. – Collins/Fontana Award for Come to Mecca, and Other Stories. – Received the Samuel Beckett Award for the television play Romance, Romance. – Works represented in Children’s Fiction in Britain, 1900-1990exhibition, British Council’s Literature Department, 1990. – Whitbread Award for first novel, 1990, for Bombay Duck.

Matteo Bergamini completed his undergraduate degree in Politics & History at the UNIVERSITY OF BRUNEL in 2014 and a Graduate diploma in Law in 2015. During this time, he launched his own multi-media network called SHOUT OUT UK.

During 2015, Bergamini launched his first investigative documentary ‘Anonymous: A Million Men’. The documentary includes interviews with Russel Brand, Conservative MP Chloe Smith and the secretive organizers of the Million Mask March itself. The film was later acquired by Shorts International for worldwide distribution.

On the 28th April 2015, in collaboration with Channel 4 and ITN, Shout Out UK, launched Britain’s first ever Youth Leaders’ Debate. The event gathered 7 leaders of the seven largest British parties’ youth wings to debate on political issues. After 10 minutes Youth Leaders was trending in the top six on twitter.

His journalist experiences expanded from the corridors of Westminster to the steps of the US Embassy, where he did a full 45- minute interview with the then Ambassador to the UK, Matthew Barzun. In May 2015, he was invited to become an ESRC Knowledge Exchange Fellow. In March 2016, he was declared the winner of the Harrow Business Den 2016. In 2016 he launched a Political Literacy Course in a growing number of schools, accredited by AQA, as part of Shout Out UK.

As a young person, passionate about politics, I realized that there is not enough political engagement amongst young people nowadays. I decided to introduce political debates at schools and try to encourage young people to get involved in politics and political literacy. These debates enhance basic understanding of political concepts and encourage people to become actively involved in their communities.